The game to be played in the Taranaki provincial city of New Plymouth on the15th September 2011 will be Russia’s first game in this year's Rugby World Cup contest. They come in as under-dogs to the United States who beat them in a closely contested game, 39-22, at their last encounter in the Churchill Cup in England.
Russian coach Nikolai Nerush believes the Russian Bears can win their World Cup debut, and says their inclusion in the Rugby World Cup is a boost for this relatively inexperienced rugby nation.
Russia and the USA play in Pool C which also includes Australia, Ireland and Italy.
Goal to win one match
"We go to New Zealand with a simple goal in mind - we are hoping to win one match," Nerush told Reuters in an interview in Moscow last month. "We feel that the two teams are evenly matched and it would be our best chance to get a win. As for the other three teams in our group, they are all in a different league”, he said.
The 19th-ranked Russian squad of 36 players had a gruelling three-week training camp focussing on fitness and conditioning in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, before travelling to England for a two week tour and honing tactics and strategy skills, prior to coming to New Zealand.
Nerush said it was a great achievement for the team to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. The teams biggest problem was its lack of major international experience. The World Cup was his team’s only chance to face major teams, but the difference in ability was so huge that it was often a mismatch.
Improved funding for rugby in Russia
He pinned his hope for improvements in the sport in his country, on better funding since the inclusion of the Rugby Sevens as an Olympic sport. From the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Rugby Sevens will be included in the Olympic programme and this would be a huge boost to Russian rugby, he said.
"All Olympic sports in Russia are funded by the state and we get peanuts, but I hope that will change soon," he said. Sound finance would make the game much more popular.
There was only 4,000 registered players in Russia and eight clubs playing professional rugby, so they struggled to find good enough players for the national team, he said. Only a couple of team members had played at top level internationally.
Since the new Olympic status has won more government support, rugby was now being taken up by many Russian schools. The professional league of eight teams, had a top four worthy of playing in regional British competitions, and the aim was to have rugby become a top-five sport in Russia.
Russian Bears welcomed in Marlborough
This year the Russian team includes team captain, hooker Vladislav Korshunov, winger and English Premiership player, Vasili Artemyev, second row forward and another Premiership player, Andrei Ostrikov, and Melbourne Rebels lock Adam Byrnes who has Russian ancestry.
The Marlborough community have welcomed the Russian Bears to the district with a warm reception at Blenheim airport last Tuesday from several hundred fans, and again when they took to Landsdowne Park for the first time last week.
Russia’s opponents on Thursday, the 16th-ranked United States team, the Eagles, led by skipper Todd Clever, have been based in Whanganui since arriving in New Zealand recently.
United States lose game against Ireland
The Eagles were beaten 22-10 in their opening match last Sunday (9th September) at Stadium Taranaki. They were well regarded as playing a strong first half and did well to keep the final score to within 12 points of their more experienced Irish opponents.
The game was played on the 10th anniversary of the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks and this was acknowledged with a minute’s silence before the game. The United States team had also attended a memorial service in New Plymouth’s St Andrews Presbyterian Church beforehand.
One Eagles player to watch is former Taranaki mid-fielder Andrew Suniula who qualifies for the team having been born in American Samoa. He was snapped up by the United States team along with his brother Roland Suniula.
